OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital launches recycling program
OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital is launching a brand new recycling program throughout the hospital, the Cornwell Center, and the Castrop Center this week after taking the Zero Waste Pledge. It is anticipated that this new recycling program will decrease waste at the hospital by 30%. Bottles, cans, newspaper, magazines and steel cans that were previously headed to the landfill, will now be sent to a local recycling facility.
The Zero Waste Pledge project is coordinated by Rural Action. This program supports businesses and organizations to take steps towards zero waste. As a part of the Zero Waste Pledge project, Rural Action has supported the hospital to roll out the new recycling program.
“The implementation of this recycling program is close to my heart,” said Mark Seckinger, president of OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital. “All hospitals have to manage a considerable amount of waste. Our partnership with Rural Action has provided us with the expertise to start finding solutions to that issue and help us deliver care here with less environmental impact.”
During the last week of January and the first week of February, the hospital’s newly established team of “Green Champions,” COMCorps Members, and Rural Action staff and AmeriCorps members will place over 60 Recycling Hubs throughout the facility. Each hub will have a recycling and trash can with educational signs to make recycling easy for visitors. As a result, all hospital visitors will have access to recycling.
In addition, each OhioHealth Associate will have a desk recycling bin and recycling will launch in the kitchen, in the mail room, and in the purchasing department.
“We are excited about the potential of this project. In places like the mail room and the purchasing department, between 80 and 95% of current waste is recyclable. OhioHealth O’Bleness is setting a great example for the region by launching this program,” said Erin Sykes, Director of Rural Action’s Zero Waste Program.
As a part of their Zero Waste Pledge, the hospital launched a battery recycling program earlier this year. O’Bleness also has future plans to expand the recycling program to its other facilities in the City of Athens and to phase out Styrofoam in the hospital cafeteria.
Contact: Keely Stockwell, OhioHealth, keely.stockwell@ohiohealth.com, 740-592-9290
Caitlin Garrity, Rural Action, caitlin@ruralaction.org, 740-677-4047 Ext. 28
About OhioHealth
OhioHealth is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, charitable, healthcare organization with Methodist roots. Based in Columbus, Ohio, OhioHealth is currently recognized as one of the top five large health systems in America by Truven Health Analytics and has been for five years in a row. It is also recognized by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” and has been for nine years in a row, 2007-2015.
Serving its communities since 1891, it is a family of 28,000 associates, physicians and volunteers, and a network of 11 hospitals, 50+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home-health, medical equipment and other health services spanning a 40-county area.
OhioHealth hospitals include OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, OhioHealth Grady Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth Hardin Memorial Hospital, OhioHealth Marion General Hospital, OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, OhioHealth Shelby Hospital and OhioHealth Rehabilitation Hospital. For more information, please visit our website at www.ohiohealth.com.
About Rural Action
Rural Action is a member based non-profit organization working on sustainable, asset-based economic development. Rural Action’s mission is to foster social, economic, and environmental justice in Appalachia Ohio. Rural Action believes every individual can make a difference in their community. Learn more at www.ruralaction.org.
